Trapped with the Enemy
by mihane100
Summary: After a long day of ghost fighting, Danny was exhausted. Who then, would choose to show up than one of the ghosts that hated him the most? Trapped in an unknown location with the one person he hates the most in the world and forced to tell the truth via truth serum, what's a teenage half ghost to do? Collab with Kasena. Contains LOTS of Badger Cereal.


**Trapped With The Enemy**

**Greetings, readers. This is a oneshot that I worked on with the wonderful Kasena (who also has a fanfiction account that you should totally check out). This is out first collab fic, so go easy on us! ^^;**

**Disclaimer:**** Neither I, nor Kasena own Danny Phantom. If we did, it would have ended up really different, trust us on this. Besides, if we really owned it, do you really think we'd be writing fanfiction for it?**

Danny had just gotten back home after a long night of ghost fighting. He transformed back into Danny Fenton, and collapsed onto his bed, not bothering to change his clothes. He was exhausted. He'd fought Skulker, Klemper, Technus, and the Box Ghost three times already. With his eyes half-open, he looked to the clock on his nightstand and groaned. It was six am. He had literally been awake all night. He figured he should get up and get ready for school, but he would much rather stay in bed for five more minutes. Before he knew it, he had fallen soundly asleep, until his ghost sense woke him up. The icy mist seemed to be almost mocking him today, that, or the ghosts were. Either way, he'd officially had enough.

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed, glaring daggers at the ceiling, as if it were all its fault. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten a full night of sleep. Transforming into Danny Phantom, he flew out his bedroom window in search for the ghost that had interrupted his well-deserved sleep. Scanning the skies, he saw a black shadow, "Alright, if you're here, that means Johnny's not far behind!" He zoomed after the shadow. When he finally approached the dark shape though, he gasped as two red eyes glared at him, a thin, but cruel smile on her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry Phantom," she said in a sickly sweet voice. "Only me. Sorry to disappoint you." What she was saying probably should have been polite, but Danny knew Spectra well enough to know when she was mocking him. Being the world's worst councilor, she knew just how to get under the skin of anyone, especially teenagers like Danny.

He scoffed at her sweet tone of voice, "Oh, please, I do not have time to deal with you right now!" The witch chuckled evilly, sending shivers down Danny's spine, as if she already knew that. This little detail would make this fight that little bit better for her and she acknowledged this with another cruel smirk. Danny, trying to ignore his feelings of impending dread, gave her his best cocky smirk and shot an ectoblast at her, which she easily avoided by swerving to her left.

She attempted to throw an ecto-blast at him, but it was weak due to how little misery she was going on. After he barely dodged, she went for physical attacks. She used her claw-like nails to scratch at him, and he struggled to fight her off. He knew that if he didn't get out of this quickly, he'd go unconscious either from lack of sleep, or being hit in the head. Also realizing this little fact, Spectra grinned at the teen, and wound her arm back. "Sleep well, little freak." All he saw was her oncoming hand before everything went black

"Ugghh…" Danny groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His head was pounding angrily and he felt like he'd just been hit with a sledgehammer. Where am I? he thought, slowly opening his blurry eyes groggily. When he saw nothing, the boy frowned and tried blinking his eyes a few times to clear his vision. It didn't work; everything was still black. Had he gone… blind? No, he was pretty sure he could still see. Wherever he was, was just pitch black, which was weird, since his bedroom always had the light on, at least. If he wasn't in his bedroom, where the heck was he? He remembered a dark… shape, but what specter… that's when it came back to him. SPECTRA! She attacked him! Unfortunately, he couldn't remember finishing that fight though. Oh crud, where was he? He was getting more panicky by the minute. Wherever he was, obviously wouldn't be the nicest place he'd ever visited, so now all he could do was wait for the inevitable. Inevitable. Danny subconsciously gulped in fear. It was that word again. He shuddered. No, this was not the time to be freaking out over Dan again. He'd stopped that future. He hadn't cheated on the C.A.T test. He was still a good guy! Still, he couldn't help but be filled with a sense of extreme fear and sadness that struck him with a lightning bolt whenever he thought of his evil counterpart.

"Freak! You're awake!" came an annoyingly cheerful voice from what sounded suspiciously like an intercom. Danny growled at what he could see of the ceiling.

"Spectra! Get me outta here!'' He heard a familiar villainous chuckle in response. He didn't think she was going to let him out, but that was really all he could do at this point, in the pitch dark in Clockwork knows where.

"Let you out? Now why would I do that after I went through all the trouble to bring you here in the first place? You're just a well of misery!" came her condescending voice. Her cheerfulness was definitely not mutual. Despite the, rather dangerous, situation, Danny scoffed.

"Oh, you think you can just trap me in here forever? You can't exactly make me miserable in a dark room you know!'' Although Danny couldn't see it, the shadow ghost sneered at his naivety.

"Oh, I know that, Danny. That is why I got a little friend to keep you company!"

The boy raised a confused eyebrow. "A friend? What did you put in here, your butler? Or, I know, how about a killer wasp?''

The ghost chuckled evilly again in response. "No, but close! I couldn't think of anything more misery-inducing than trapping you in the same room of the person you hate the most in the world. Won't this be fun?''

Danny gave the ceiling a confused look. It wasn't likely going to be Dan, so who- the boy's eyes widened.

"N-no...'' he muttered in shock. She couldn't do this to him!

"Ugh...Daniel? Where...am I?'' a very disoriented, yet familiar voice asked from somewhere in the darkness. Danny gasped as his suspicions were confirmed.

"No! SPECTRA! I SWEAR, WHEN I GET OUTTA HERE, I'LL-''

She chuckled at his threats, "Whatever you say. I'll be back in about six hours. Don't kill each other too much by the time I get back!"

Danny glanced worriedly in the direction he had heard Vlad's voice come from and backed away until his back hit a wall. He muttered to himself, "It's okay, I don't have to talk, I can wait it out. It's okay…" But before he could feel assured, Spectra's voice sounded again,

"Oh, and in case you're wondering, I injected you both with a super strong truth serum! By the time the first hour is up, you'll both be singing like canaries! You can thank Undergrowth for that one. I know I am! Bye, now!"

Danny groaned. He could already tell that this was not going be an enjoyable experience. Before he could try to think of a way out of this though, his thoughts were interrupted by the familiar voice hissing at him, "Daniel, what did you do?!"

He glared in Vlad's direction, "I got kidnapped, just like you, fruitloop! So don't think you're the only one stuck in this mess."

The elder halfa sighed, "I swear, if it weren't for you, my life would be so much easier."

Danny, 'hmphed.' "The feeling's mutual. Just… don't even talk to me. Even though we're apparently both under the effects of some stupid truth serum!" He turned around and kicked the wall behind him. "What the heck?! Why does everything happen to me?! Batman doesn't have to hang out with the Joker! This is all those stupid ghosts' fault! If I had gotten more sleep, I could've beat her! But now I'm stuck in here with you! She's probably got something even worse set up, and this-"

Vlad, tired of the child's rambling, interrupted him, "Daniel!" The teen cut himself off, and waited for the billionaire to blast him, or something, but the man didn't. Instead, he sighed, "This can't honestly be so bad. I propose we play a little...game, of sorts."

Danny snorted. "A game? That sounds totally lame, fruitloop. Even for you.''

Vlad smirked in the darkness. "Lame? Not when we're both under the influence of the truth serum, it's not.'' Danny frowned as he thought the idea over. It couldn't be too bad, I mean, what could the guy ask him that he didn't know already?

"Alright, you're ON, Fruitloop!"

Vlad chuckled, "Very well…" Just to test the effects of the serum, he asked, "So, how are you doing in school?"

Danny rolled his azure eyes. School, really? "School? How's school? Well, when I show up, school sucks as usual. I get detention nearly every day, there's this one kid, Dash, that always tries to shove me in my locker while I pretend to be scared, same old routine I guess. Though the injuries I keep getting from ghosts are getting a lot harder to hide in gym class.''

Vlad hesitated, "Interesting, I never would've- Alright, then, I suppose you can now ask me a question."

"Right!" Danny grinned. "Hmm...so many questions...but, what could I ask the fruitloop?" he thought out loud. "I could ask him anything, anything at all. What his weaknesses are, why he really wants me as his son so badly, what he hates-"

Vlad interrupted his train of thought, "Daniel, I'm right here, you know."

Danny's grin, if it was possible, grew wider. "Oh, I know. I just like seeing the great Vlad Plasmius at my mercy, that's all." The man sighed at the younger halfa's phrase because unfortunately, he was right. He really was at the boy's mercy right now.

"The question, Daniel?"

Danny choked down his laughter and tried to look composed. He didn't know if Vlad could even see him, after all.

"Right, well...uh...did you ever get a lonely guy cat?"

The man fought down a blush, hoping his young rival couldn't see and cleared his throat, "Y-yes. I did." He had tried to not let it out, but it slipped past, and he found himself answering the boy's question, "Two, actually."

Danny blinked. Wait, what? That definitely wasn't the answer he had been expecting at all. That didn't mean that it wasn't absolutely hilarious, though.

"Haha! You...actually...HAHA!" Danny gasped in between giggles. This was priceless! "Just wait...Ha...'til I...tell S...AHAH..am and Tuck! Ha!"

He glared daggers at Danny, "You will tell no one!" He then relaxed, and let out a maniacal chuckle, "After all, it's my turn, and I have the perfect question in mind." He listened as the boy's laughs got quieter. "Tell me something, dear boy, would you like to train under me?"

"Yeah, totally!" Danny blurted out before he could stop himself. The ghost boy, silently using every curse word he knew against Spectra, gasped and covered his mouth. Oh, crud! What was he going to do now? He hadn't even told his friends that he thought training with Vlad would be cool, and he told his friends everything!

The man smirked, "Somehow, I expected that to be your answer." His tone of voice was very smug.

"Y-you...but y-you don't understand!" Danny stuttered, trying to make an excuse for himself, despite having lost the ability to lie. "You're a half ghost, like me! With every power there IS! I don't wanna fight you all the time!"

Vlad couldn't hide his smirk or the fact that he was feeling a hint of pride at what the younger one was saying.

Danny, despite his shame, glared at the darkness where he assumed Vlad was, his hostile attitude returning. "But why do you even care, Plasmius? Let's face it, if I wasn't this valuable pawn in your plan for...world domination...or whatever, I'd probably be dead by now."

Vlad blinked with surprise before looking at him, "Daniel, that isn't true. I do care."

Danny frowned. "Oh yeah? Well you have a pretty funny way of showing it, dude."

"Well, when you give me no other choice…" He sighed, realising he'd have to explain his motives, "When I fight you, it is because you will not accept my offer for training, so I then have to indirectly train you. It not only helps with your powers, but with how you react. And, if you hadn't noticed, I am not bent on world domination. The reason I have not killed you, is because I do not want to." He looked at the boy, hoping he'd understand.

"Wait… what? Dude, you're so confusing. Why are you so bothered about training me in the first place? If anything, you should hate me for being Jack's son!"

The man mulled over how to answer, and decided to not address the last part of what he said, "Because It took me quite a bit of trouble to learn how to use my powers, and I hardly had any ghosts that attacked me. You're young, meaning you're more vulnerable, and you have many enemies that come after you, wishing to do away with you. It's my job to make sure that doesn't happen." Because fathers must protect their sons, no matter what, He thought to himself.

"Your job? Since when is it EVER your job to do anything for me? You're crazy!" Danny exclaimed, going to sit his, now aching, legs down. They were going to be there for a while, after all.

He paused, expecting this reaction, "Your mother never told you, did she?"

"Told me… what?" Danny asked cautiously, rubbing his neck in apprehension.

"Daniel, have your parents ever fought, ending in one of them leaving the house for a short amount of time?"

Danny frowned and tried to turn over all the memories of his parents in his head, vaguely realising that Vlad had turned to sit next to him. Yeah, they had fought a lot, some quite recently, too. "Y-yeah, but what's…"

"Once, about sixteen or so years ago, they had a similar fight. I believe that Jack had forgotten their third anniversary. Your mother… she left the house, and came to visit me. One thing led to another, and…"

"D-Don't… say it," Danny choked out. He knew what 'one thing led to another' usually meant, and he really didn't need the details. He suddenly felt really sick.

"I wasn't going to." He stayed silent, waiting for the teen's reaction.

"So, let me get this straight…" the boy whispered. "You're telling me that you and my Mum… and I…" He couldn't say it. He just couldn't say it. He knew exactly what Vlad was implying because he wasn't stupid after all, but…

He wasn't going to make him say it, "Yes, Daniel, that is what I'm saying. I… apologise for not telling you sooner. I had suspected, but after finding out you were also half-ghost..."

"I… can't believe this. So you're telling me that… you're my… D-Dad?! My whole life is a lie!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Daniel, you are being just a tad overdramatic."

"Overdramatic? OVERDRAMATIC?! I just found out my DAD isn't really my DAD and my ARCH-ENEMY isn't really my enemy, but my DAD?!"

"Would you have wanted to know that someone you never even met was your father?"

"Well no, but...ugh, my life is so messed up, I don't even know why I'm surprised anymore."

Vlad rose an eyebrow at this, "What ever do you mean?"

Danny sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Vlad, I'm half dead, my parents say they want me destroyed and that they love me all in the same sentence. My life couldn't GET any more complicated. Being the 'hero' isn't exactly easy you know. Sometimes it's hard, really, really hard. I'll look confident while I'm fighting a ghost, but inside, I'm… terrified that my friends and family could get hurt. I just… I can't… I-I c-can't…" Memories of Dan had started flooding his mind now and he could feel his eyes overflowing with tears. Pull yourself...together, Fenton! He mentally reprimanded himself, as he felt salty tears seep through his fingers. Don't look weak in front of Vlad! You can't!

Vlad watched his son's breakdown in shock. He did suspect that Daniel's life was a little stressful of course, but he didn't think it was enough to bring the boy to tears. He ran his hand through the boys hair, hoping to calm him down. Changing the subject, he quietly asked, "I believe that it is once again your turn."

Danny nodded, grateful for the change of subject. Blinking away the remnants of his tears, he coughed. "Alright, I, um… so, you have cats? What did you end up calling them?"

The man's eyes widened at the question before he crossed his arms, and mumbled, "They're both named Maddie."

This time, it was Danny's eyes that widened. He had to be kidding. "Oh my God…" he groaned, rolling his eyes at his...father. Wow, that was weird.

He grumbled, "Well, I don't care…" He smirked, as he thought of another question, "Tell me, are you a fan of the Packers?"

Danny could have laughed at the completely random question, but he didn't because he knew he had to answer it and he already knew what Vlad's reaction would be.

"Yeahthey'reawesome," the boy muttered quietly, all in one breath.

Vlad, at this, let out a triumphant, "HaHA! Yes!"

"Shut up, Vlad!"

"It's not my fault that I have found yet another of their fans," He snarked at the boy.

"I'm NOT a fan! I just...like rooting for them, that's all," Danny grumbled, arms crossed and a pout on his face that Vlad found hilarious.

"It's still a win for me. Your turn." He smirked, waiting for some convoluted question.

On a whim, Danny asked the first question to pop into his head. After all, he already knew the answer. He was just trying to kill time at this point. "So, you know anything about the Ghost Gauntlets?"

The billionaire tilted his head, then nodded. "Yes, I do believe I have such a creation in the works. It will let humans remove things from something else, as though they could turn intangible. For example, if they swallowed something they shouldn't have, or have forgotten the code to a safe."

Danny gulped. "You're… building it?! Why the heck would you even do that?!"

He didn't notice the worry in the teen's voice, "Yes, I'm building it. And honestly, because I get bored, and I like to experiment. The concept behind these Gauntlets is actually quite fascinating. There's a great many uses for it, that I'm sure I've yet to discover."

"Yeah, like ripping my ghost half out! You can't finish creating that, Vlad, PLEASE!" Danny was really starting to panic now. This couldn't be happening! If he finished making those gauntlets, the human world and the ghost zone as they knew it would be doomed!

He furrowed his brow, "Daniel, what are you talking about? Why can't I finish making them? Why would your ghost half be ripped out?"

Danny gulped. He was going to have to explain the whole Dan thing now, wasn't he? "I-it technically happened after my C.A.T test. A lot happened, but Mr Lancer thought I was planning on cheating on the C.A.T, so he wanted to talk to my family about it. They all met up at Nasty Burger and my friends were there for support, but something went wrong with the n-nasty sauce and…they a-all d-d-died…" Danny trailed off, staring sadly at the floor. "I was the only s-survivor, so they sent me to stay with you. I was so upset though, that I convinced you to r-rip my g-ghost half out of me with the g-ghost g-g-gauntlets, so I wouldn't… feel anymore pain. Then another thing went wrong. My g-ghost half t-turned evil and… killed my human half. Then, he merged with your ghost half and started destroying everything until I went forward in time to trap my evil older self inside a Fenton thermos…"

During the entire story, Vlad sat there in disbelief and shock. He had done that? But, he couldn't have, "Daniel, that never happened. It's impossible. Your family is obviously still alive and well, you still have your ghost half, so then how is all this possible?"

Danny's shoulders were starting to shake now, as if he were going to burst into tears. "T-the t-time g-ghost, Clockwork, helped me g-go forward in time...ten years and I p-prevented it from happening. But I guess there's still a part of me terrified that he's…" Danny shuddered mid sentence, "...inevitable. I-I...I might still t-t-turn into…" his eyes were starting to water again. What was wrong with him today? Had Dan really traumatized him that much?

Vlad's eyes widened, "He's real? Clockwork's real?" He thought this over, and turned back to Danny to discuss it, when he stopped. Here he was, the Danny Phantom, practically in tears over something that hadn't even happened. He wanted to comfort his son, but he couldn't find the right words to say. How can one say something to all that? Still, he had to try, so he pulled Danny closer to him in an embrace. Danny, at first, didn't realise what was going on, being too caught up with memories of Dan. "It's okay, little badger. It's alright," Vlad said in a soft voice, doing his best to be reassuring. When Danny started to sob, the only thing Vlad thought to do was stroke the boy's raven hair in a soothing gesture, a habit he had probably gotten from having two cats. Surprisingly though, it seemed to be working, as he felt Danny's tense body relax while his father held him. Eventually sucking himself out of the depressing alternate future, Danny finally realised what was going on. Gross! Was the dude hugging him? Still, he couldn't bring himself to shake Vlad off of him. Not because he found this comforting or anything, that would be weird...right? His eyes had started getting heavy now and Vlad's heat core's warmth enveloping him was only speeding the process of lulling him to sleep. Letting out a quiet yawn, Danny finally let himself fall unconscious.

Vlad, seeing this, let out a small smile and transformed into Plasmius. He took off his cape and draped it over the boy. Glancing around, the oldest half ghost quickly realised that there was nowhere comfortable for Daniel to fall asleep. Sighing, he pulled the boy into his lap and chuckled, "You're something else, dear boy. Worth the work, but you're still something else entirely."

After some time of remaining like that, a door neither of them had noticed opened, and Spectra's shadow form floated in, and froze at what she saw. The older halfa was in his ghost form with the younger one sleeping in his lap. She frowned, "Aw, I can't get any misery from him when he's asleep!" She pouted, then shrugged, "I normally like teenagers, but you'll have to do." She came closer to them, and Vlad slowly lowered Danny to the ground.

"I normally don't go after leeches, but you'll have to do."

"Leech? My, how clever," she commented sarcastically, floating her shadowy form towards Vlad. You would think, being a shadow in such a dark room, that Spectra would be impossible to see. However, her form, like most ghosts, had a ghostly aura surrounding it and she glowed like a Christmas tree in such a shadowed room.

"You can pretend all you like, Plas, but we both know that you're no more manipulative than I am. You're more like this leech than you give yourself credit for."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. I am not going to stand here and play mind games with you." He took a protective stance in front of Danny.

"Aww, isn't that sweet? You've gained an attachment to the little freak," the shadow mocked, in her sickly sweet voice. "I hope you know that it'll change nothing. He'll still reject you, no matter what. In fact, no one will really accept you. After all, you were the first halfa. You had to grow up all alone, because nobody will ever understand. But then, of course when the second one ever comes along, you mess up, and he hates you so much that he calls you an arch-enemy. So really, there is no hope for you."

Vlad winced a little at what she was saying, but otherwise stayed stoic. "Don't patronise me, woman. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

The ghost seemed to almost roll her pupiless eyes. "Oh, I know full well what you're capable of… when you're not trapped in an empty room with ectoranium embedded into the walls, that is. It's time to face the facts, Plasmius. You have nothing. Your best friend just about killed you, the love of your life married said best friend and the boy you want as a son wants nothing to do with you. The only thing you DO have are your cats, but even they'll die and leave you at some point."

Vlad growled. Still, he couldn't deny that what she was saying was true and Spectra was starting to feel the misery energy escaping him. He didn't notice the black rings around his waist transforming him back into Masters. Behind him, they both heard a voice speak up, "Hey! Can he get a second opinion?" Huh? Both adults turned to look at the, now conscious, teenager.

"Vlad may be a fruitloop, but...yeah, he's pretty much a fruitloop. But one thing about him is that he's strong! How many humans do YOU know that can have everything ripped away from them, but still get back on that horse and end up rich and powerful? THIS guy!" Without even waiting for a response from either of the shocked adults, Danny stood up and sent a strong punch towards Spectra's face that sent her flying towards the wall. Without really thinking about it, Danny ran towards the open door. "Come on, Dad! What are you doing? Run!" Vlad, still completely shocked at Danny's previous defending of him, quickly nodded and ran towards the door. He didn't think he'd EVER heard Danny hold him in such high regard before. Now wasn't the time to think about that now though. He could already feel his how weak his powers were now due to the previous misery sucking, so he didn't think he wanted to risk transforming just yet. However, Danny had already transformed into Phantom with ease and was now flying out of the building.

He followed after him, running as fast as he could, when he stepped onto grass. He tried to fly, until he felt a hand wrap around his ankle. "You aren't going anywhere, just yet! You have almost as much misery as the twerp! And look! He's abandoned you!" When he looked ahead, he couldn't see Danny anywhere. He looked back at Spectra, trying to hide the fear he was feeling, when she was blasted away. To the right of where she had been, Danny appeared with a rageful expression on his face.

"Hey, Spectra!" He shot another blast at her, then brought her own words back to her, "Let's boogie!" Vlad rose an eyebrow at the boy's choice of wording, but assumed it was something from a previous fight and decided not to read too much into it. Meanwhile, Spectra began to recover from the blow, and was glaring at the halfa. She shot an ecto blast at him, and he countered with one of his own. She flew backwards into a sign reading 'No Mercy Hospital.' Darn it! I knew it! Danny thought in irritation. He should have known he was in that horrible place. After all, she owned it as far as he knew. He didn't have time to think about it much, though; Spectra had started attacking again and she was getting angrier.

"Hold still, freak! You're not getting away with that!" she growled. Before Danny could tease about how she had anger management issues and could use a councilor of her own, the shadow ghost turned to shoot some bolts at the weaker, human Vlad. Not having time to think, Danny darted towards Vlad and stretched a green ectoshield around him. "DAD! Watch out!" he yelled in his panic.

Vlad raised his eyebrows a fraction, but didn't say anything at the moment. Danny shot some more ectoblasts at Spectra, and flew up to the roof of the building, landing on it. She followed after him, not letting him get away that easily, "Aw, is the little freak still tired? Well, too bad! I've been waiting for so long to get my revenge on you! And maybe I can even mess with the older one down there while I'm at it!" She charged up an ectoblast, one in each hand, then combined them and shot at him. He was barely able to dodge them, and his left arm was hit, leaving a small burn mark.

He growled, and shot blast after blast at her. Not expecting this, she flew in different patterns and tried to avoid them, not always succeeding. Finally, he had weakened her enough that she was lying on the roof in pain. He floated back down and stood on it. He charged one more ectoblast in his hand, hoping to scare her away. Seeing only one way out of this, he began to bluff, "One more should do it. Unless...you surrender and agree to go to the Ghost Zone now? I mean, I ain't bothered either way. What do you wanna do, Spectra?"

Buying his act, she nodded desperately, "Yes, yes, I'll leave. Just, don't waste me!"

He lowered his hand, but kept the ectoblast. "Then beat it. I don't wanna see your old face again."

Neither halfa said anything, as they watched the terrified shadow ghost speed off into the, now orange, sky. When she was finally gone, both hybrids let out a sigh of relief.

"Wow, that was a close one," Danny muttered. "You okay, Vlad?"

The man nodded. "Barely. Be honest with me, boy. You weren't really going to finish her then, were you?"

Danny shook his head. "Of course not. She's evil, but… I'm not."

Vlad nodded, understanding the meaning. He then gave him a side-long look. "Dad?"

Danny blushed furiously and turned away, crossing his arms, "My tongue just slipped. I meant to say Vlad."

He ruffled his son's hair, and chuckled, "Whatever you say, dear boy. Now, how about we get back to our homes?"

Danny nodded, still not facing the man, "Oh, and Vlad?"

He turned towards the boy, wondering what he could possibly say after all this, "Yes, Daniel?"

"Uh...thanks," he told him, quickly wrapping his arms around the man. He blinked, but before he could somehow respond, the boy let go and zoomed off towards his home, leaving the man stunned and speechless.

"You really are a mystery, little badger," he muttered, before making his way back to his mansion.


End file.
